


Time Will Tell (But We May Not Have Time)

by sweeterthankarma



Category: The Good Place (TV)
Genre: F/M, First Kiss (in this timeline), S3E8: Don't Let the Good Life Pass You By, alternate scene ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-20
Updated: 2018-11-20
Packaged: 2019-08-26 10:34:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16679998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweeterthankarma/pseuds/sweeterthankarma
Summary: Eleanor says it. She admits it. Her words hang loose and stagnant in the air, frighteningly public, and Chidi is staring at her for too long.The way he looks at her makes her feel like she’s both drowning and floating, his presence more than enough to make her head spin as she waits for an answer, and they might not even have time to wait so she does what she does best instead: be impulsive (and ruin things even more, probably.)or, what would have/should have happened if Janet got thrown onto the counter just a few seconds later.





	Time Will Tell (But We May Not Have Time)

**Author's Note:**

> Watched 3x08 and immediately started writing this as soon as I got to the commercial break after this scene. I absolutely adore the way the writers handled Eleanor's confession and the raw nature of it, and as much as I wished we got a kiss in this scene, I also love the drawn out pining and lack of straight forward dialogue— this is the basis for every show, after all, and these two really didn't have any time in this episode to just sit down and discuss things. Thus, I wrote this, as I'm always wanting more Cheleanor in my life in any capacity.

    “We were in love...and there’s a real possibility that I’m in love with you...again...here...on this plane of existence...today...now...in Canada...during this brawl...with demons.” 

Eleanor says it. She admits it. Her words hang loose and stagnant in the air, frighteningly public, and Chidi is staring at her for too long.

The way he looks at her makes her feel like she’s both drowning and floating, his presence more than enough to make her head spin as she waits for an answer, and they might not even have time to wait so she does what she does best instead: be impulsive (and ruin things even more, probably.)

The thing is, Eleanor doesn’t usually hesitate this much. She doesn’t usually falter or second guess herself or really even think much before she acts, not nearly as much as she should and especially not when it comes to love. But she’s never really been in love anyway so it’s all uncharted territory, especially now with literal demons sparring around her in rural Canada, of all places. Eleanor knows how to hook up, how to slip out of a bed without waking the other person up and how to block numbers immediately after, but she doesn’t know how to handle _ this. _ And truth be told, she never would have thought she was capable of loving someone the way she loved Chidi in The Good Place— well, actually The Bad Place— but she felt it then and she feels it now, so she has to deal with it.

Eleanor closes the gap between them fast, shutting her eyes so she can’t see how he reacts as she moves closer, and she shakes in both fear and relief when her mouth meets his, a fleeting kiss but the first of this universe, and therefore special all the same. It’s different than the one they’d had by the river in reboot #119, the memory of his touch and his  _ love  _ like a ghost on her skin and in her mind. Now, touching him in this way again, unhindered passion like a dam set free running through her veins, she imagines the thousands of other kisses she knows they’ve shared in past timelines, memories Michael hasn’t unlocked for her— for  _ them— _ yet, and she hopes Janet is still kicking ass around them because she really wants to be able to do this again and remember all the moments she has before.

Her mind is racing, always racing, but Chidi’s lips are soft, warm and careful on her own, almost unmoving but then they _ do _ move, just a little, and it’s something, undeniably so; he’s kissing her back.

She smiles against his mouth.

And then Janet is flung onto the counter and they break apart, not breathless but not quite breathing either, and then they’re scrambling again, fighting and kicking and using beer bottles as weapons and it’s almost like a real life James Bond movie except there’s no way in hell Eleanor can fall asleep this time.

This is going to be a lot to unpack later on, Eleanor thinks when the bar owner comes downstairs with a gaping jaw and loud, harsh reprimandations. Michael stutters insistent apologies and gets yelled at anyways; Eleanor just smiles and brings a finger up to her lips, already reminiscing. A few feet away, Chidi does the same and pretends he doesn’t notice the way she looks at him.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on Tumblr @sweeterthankarma, where I'm always gushing over both Cheleanor and Elhani.


End file.
